Should You Do Cardio Before or After Weights? (Best Strategy)

Discover whether you should do cardio before or after weights to maximize your workout. Learn how exercise order impacts fat loss, muscle building, endurance, and recovery. Explore expert tips for balancing strength training and aerobic exercise for optimal fitness results.

It’s an age-old question. No, not which came first the chicken or the egg. Rather, which should you do first, cardio or strength?

As a personal trainer with decades of experience I’ve been asked countless times whether to do cardio before or after weights, and opinions on the topic are often divided.

Some believe starting with cardio maximizes endurance and calorie burn, while others argue that prioritizing weightlifting enhances strength and muscle-building potential.

My thoughts?

It depends on your fitness goals, workout preferences, and overall routine. But pretty much the most important thing is that you move.

However, let’s explore both sides of the argument, diving into the science behind each approach to help you make the best choice for your body and your goals!

A Case For Doing Cardio Before Weight Lifting

There are many people who argue that putting cardio first is the right strategy when trying to meet your fitness goals.

Here are a few of the common reasons people prefer to cardio before lifting weights:

• Some dislike cardio altogether, so they prefer to get it out of their way
• Some say it helps warm up their body more gently than lifting weights
• Some say they become more mentally focused during cardio, which leads to a better strength training session

So, what do the experts say?

Experts on this side tell you to pay attention to your goals.

If your primary goal is to increase aerobic capacity or train for endurance, then doing cardio first is probably your best option.

This is where the bulk of your energy will be placed. Whereas doing weights first will zap some of that away leading to a less productive cardio session.

If you are training for a race of some sort, your best bet is to put your energy into the cardio portion of your workout so that the quality of your workout is used to better your performance.

Here are a few of my favorite cardio workouts for weight loss to help you get started!

A Case For Doing Weight Lifting Before Cardio

There are many athletes that claim lifting weights first actually allows them to have more energy to lift heavier.

And the strength training gets their body’s prepared and pre-stretched for the cardio afterward.

So what do the experts say?

Experts who promote strength training first all preach the fact that by starting with resistance training, you have a full tank of gas to really exert yourself and break down the muscle fibers.

If your legs are pre-exhausted from running, biking or elliptical machines first you may end up with sloppy form in your squats and lunges.

If you are interested in learning more about how to better lift weights, I recommend getting started with my guide to the best strength training moves for women over 50!

Cardio vs. Weights First: Understanding Your Goals

The most important thing to consider when deciding to do cardio before of after weights is your specific fitness goals. Explore the list of goals below to see where you fit best!

My Approach is A Hybrid Approach

If you can’t quite decide whether you should focus on cardio before or after weights, you can mix it up with a hybrid approach.

I personally am not training for any events, I’m just training to be “old lady strong”. I want to keep my muscle mass up and keep my heart healthy.

So for me and most of my clients, I recommend mixing up your days by putting strength first one day, and then cardio first another, and then also do some combination workouts involving intervals and circuits.

For us regular people, it’s about consistency and actually doing the workouts. So I get less hung up on the rules and I promote more variety to keep you motivated.

Incorporating HIIT Into Your Workouts

As I just mentioned, intervals are a great way to combine your weights and cardio. And HIIT (high-intensity interval training) will really maximize the effectiveness of your efforts. HIIT can combine cardio and strength into one workout.

Not only does HIIT help you get your cardio and strength in at the same time, but it’s also one of the quickest ways to burn fat. I believe so strongly in the effectiveness of HIIT that I actually wrote an entire guide to the benefits of HIIT workouts during menopause.

Check out my HIIT for beginners guide, and then get started with these workouts:

The Bottom Line

The fact that you are even questioning the order of your workout means you are working out. This puts you ahead of most of the population, and this is truly what matters. Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture, which is to stay active!

If you are working out consistently, chances are the order of your workout will not make THAT much of a difference.

And to back up what I said above, according to Edward R. Lasowski, M.D, “Whether you do weightlifting before or after an aerobic workout is up to you. Research hasn’t definitively shown that one way is better than another.”

His words are supported by a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research which looked into the question of workout order to determine if one or the other led to more fat loss.

The study titled, The Effects of Combined Resistance Training and Endurance Exercise Program in Inactive College Female Subjects: Does Order Matter?” investigated the matter using an 8-week exercise program on inactive college females.

What was the bottom line? Order didn’t matter!

There was a significant improvement for everyone in terms of lean body mass, VO2max and strength. However, only participants who really saw their body fat go down were those who began to eat better! Boom – you can’t out train a bad diet!

Use an Electrolyte Supplement to Maintain Energy Levels

If you want to help ensure you keep energy levels high throughout your entire workout, I recommend drinking an electrolyte supplement before or during your exercise!

When I started focusing on replenishing my electrolytes, like salt, I saw a huge difference in my energy levels. It helped me stay energized throughout my entire workout, and the rest of the day too!

Check out my full LMNT electrolyte supplement review – it’s the brand I trust and love!